The Third Time's The Charm
by LilPotterfanfic
Summary: Every generation, Never Land dies just a little bit more. Something wonderful about the island disappears. So once every generation, Peter Pan goes off and searches for a new Wendy to bring home. If she chooses to stay, Never Land will wake up under the reign of Peter, and if Hook takes her, the island will be destroyed. But this girl is different. She's no one's Wendy.
1. Interlude 1

**The Third Time's The Charm**  
**Interlude 1: Promise**

_There is an island, where no one ever ages_

_Where childhood and adventure rules, and mischief rages._

_There is a boy, who speaks with magic, who flies with a happy thought_

_There is a pirate, all grown up, the boy's enemy, and many a battle they have fought._

_And on this island, there is no snow_

_There is now decay of the warmth of spring and summer that we know_

_No crisp, fiery leaves of autumn,_

_No storms that wash away all the heat, and leave sad thoughts forgotten._

_There are fairies on this island, and mermaids and boys_

_Lost boys that never wish to grow up, the power of the island they employ._

_The island dies a little more each year_

_Something else disappears, something held dear_

_The island needs a Wendy you see_

_As do I. Who am I? Peter Pan, that's me._

_I need a Wendy who will keep me young, who lights up the night sky with her smile and can make everything an adventure_

_Wendys have bright blue eyes, and soft hair, they are caring and sweet and have hearts that are pure._

_I've met three Wendys. And to the first I made a promise._

_I would come for her daughter, and her daughter's daughter too_

_I'd look for the Darlings with eyes that are blue._

_It's that time once more, time to find another Wendy_

_She must choose to stay this time, or from the island all must flee_

_The pirate needs Wendy too, he wants to be king_

_But to do that he'll have to take the Wendy I bring_

_Whoever takes the Wendy will decide our fate_

_If the pirate gets her, the island will die, if she chooses to stay with me then the island will come awake._

_It's that time again, time to go_

_A new way has appeared, or didn't you know?_

_It's time to meet the next Wendy and take her home_

_Hopefully this time, she won't leave me alone._

_So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned._

_Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!_


	2. The Darlings

**The Third Time's The Charm**  
**Chapter 1: The Darlings  
A/N: This is my first Peter Pan story, so kindly go easy on me.  
**

Mrs. Jane Darling still believed in magic.

A child at heart, the thirty six year old mother was just as adventurous and outspoken as she had been at eleven, although not quite as scatter-brained. She and her husband, a man by the name of Jack who absolutely adored her, lived in Lancashire, a suburb just outside of London. The year was 1943, and the couple was raising a family shortly after World War II, in what was called the "baby boom" era.

They had taken the name quite literally.

Jane had given birth to her first child at the age of nineteen, exactly nine months after her wedding to Jack. The entire family had been quite excited, and all of Jane's uncles had traveled to London to meet her new son, Emmett Michael Darling.

The next Darling child came a year later. A black-haired boy with mischievous grey eyes, the second son was named Carter Bruno Darling.

Emmett and Carter's younger- and much loved- sister came two years later. The only Darling to be born in Grandma Wendy's nursery since Grandma Wendy herself, blonde haired and blue eyed Claire Wendy Darling was different from the rest of her family since her birth.

For a long while, Jane, Jack and their children thought that no more Darlings would be born. Claire resigned herself to being the youngest, and so she was for ten long years, until one cold night in December, that all changed.

The twins were born in the exact same hospital room as Emmett, exactly two minutes apart from each other. Benjamin Peter Darling came first, chubby with dark brown hair, followed by his sister, Katherine Anastasia Darling, ginger curled and blue eyed.

The Darlings soon became the talk of the town, and not just for Jane's disbelief in the unknown. Everyone knew who the children were, and they soon became known as "those kids".

If there was ever news about the war, you could bet it was about Emmett, the only man in Lancashire to be drafted into the army. Whenever there was a loud bang or scream of shock, everyone knew it was caused by Carter, the king of pranking. Rambunctious Ben was always getting himself into all sorts of trouble, and after several incidents, all the towns-people kept their basement doors firmly locked. Kitty Darling stayed at home most of the time- as she was of poor health and caught colds rather easily- where she was watched over protectively and lovingly by her older sister, Claire.

Claire was a strange child, that was something everyone in the town agreed on. No one knew where she had gotten her golden hair from, none of her family were blondes, and she acted quite differently than her siblings did. Sensible and soft-spoken, Claire was the only Darling that didn't view Peter Pan as a very real person, and Never Land as a very real place. She was not very brave, and certainly not adventurous. Curious? Maybe. But in that case, Claire preferred to learn and explore while safely at home, lying in the garden with a good book.

An old soul, others would say about her, satisfied with the simple things in life. And they were right.

As the first signs of autumn began to touch 1943, all of Lancashire was in quite the excited state. For you see, barely a week after the allied forces had taken Germany, ending the wore, most of the drafted soldiers had been discharged, including the town's very own hero, Emmett Darling.

Now eighteen years old, Emmett was quite the good-looking fellow, and notorious as a lady's man. Strong, russet- haired and cleft- chinned, he could make any girl swoon with just a toothy grin in her direction.

This was who the Darling family waited for so anxiously, gathered in a large crowd of others in their same situation: Eager for a reunion with a loved one who had been away for far too long. After what seemed like hours to five year old Ben, but was really only a few minutes, the great, sooty train finally pulled into Kings Cross Station.

Pushing aside the novelty of seeing a real-life train for the moment, (really, what made it smoke like that?) Ben rushed forward so he could greet his big brother the second he got off the train, only to find himself held back by Claire.

"Wait just a little longer, Ben," she told him as soldiers started disembarking. "You'll see Emmett in just a few seconds."

"But I wanna see him now!" Ben whined.

"Looks like you're in luck, squirt, Em is headed towards us right now," Carter informed them, staring out over their heads.

"Be nice to your little brother," Jane chided them in an un-characteristically mothering tone.

"Yes mom," he replied, rolling his eyes. Even at seventeen years old, Carter was still quite the rebellious teenager.

Their faces brightened considerably as Emmett drew closer and closer, until Ben, unable to handle it anymore, wriggled his arm free from Claire's hand and rushed forward, colliding with his older brother.

Emmett chuckled and swept a squealing Ben into his arms. "Mom, Dad! You miss me?"

Mrs. Darling inhaled sharply then flew to her son and embraced him. "Be quiet, you joker, of course we missed you!"

He smiled and wrapped his arms around his mother, Ben trapped in between them. "Yeah, I missed you guys too."

Mrs. Darling pulled back and the trio walked towards the rest of their family.

"Hey son," said Mr. Darling, "I'm glad you're home safe."

Never one for expressing himself, this short sentence took more courage from Mr. Darling than anyone would ever know. Anyone but Emmett, that is.

The simple confession almost bust the Emmett dam. The horrors of the war, the sick exhilaration of the fight, the home sickness, it all came rushing up against his tear ducts and threatened to make him break down.

But no, not now. He couldn't now. Not when Ben was clutching his hand and Mom and Dad were crying, not when Claire was trembling with relief, not when Carter had an expression on his face that wasn't sarcastic, and certainly not when little Kitty was looking healthier than she had in years.

So he took a deep breath and forced the tears back.

There would be time later. When Carter had fallen asleep and Emmett was for all purposes alone in the basement room they shared. That would be the time.

Carter positively beamed as he crushed his older brother in a tight embrace. The two boys were closer to each other than any of the other Darlings, and Carter had missed his partner in crime. He'd been rather worried too, but he was far too stubborn to admit that.

"Carter," Emmett greeted him, "What'd you get up to while I was gone?"

"Oh you know, graduated high school, kissed Elena Hopkins, the usual," he joked.

Emmett laughed his deep, throaty laugh, and all the Darlings smiled. They had missed that sound.

"Emmett!" Claire cried, unable to hold it in any longer. She handed Kitty off to her mother and flew into Emmett's waiting arms. "I'm so relieved you're home, you've got no idea!"

He chuckled, fighting back tears again at the rare display of emotion from Claire. "Me too, honey, me too."

They separated and Emmett held her at arms' length, inspecting to see how much his sister had changed in his absence.

Claire had grown only an inch, and it didn't look as though she had gained much weight. Good, she was still incredibly tiny. Unfortunately, her womanly curves hadn't magically disappeared. If anything, they'd become even more pronounced. Looked like Emmett would be fighting the teenage boys off with a stick. Same shiny blonde hair, pulled back with a ribbon. Same intelligent blue- grey eyes, alight with curiosity.

Same little sister.

"Are you done?" Claire asked him, grinning.

"I'm done," Emmett replied, then gave her a loving tap on the head.

By this point, Kitty was feeling quite left out. Her older brother hadn't seen her for over a year, why wasn't her hugging her _right this second_?

"I feel as though I'm forgetting something," Emmett mused teasingly. "What is it? What is it?"

"Me!" Kitty screamed, wriggling out of Mrs. Darling's hands.

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "How could I forget my little Kitty cat?"

Brother and sister both laughed as he picked her up and spun around with her, and the family made their way to Mr. Darling's car.

"Did you meet any Russians?" Ben demanded once they were all settled in.

Emmett froze for a moment.

He had met the Russian forces. He'd fought along side them, actually. Emmett had liked the majority of them. But the others... The others had disgusted him.

How was he supposed to tell Ben that Joseph Stalin had ordered his soldiers to rape any German girl they found?

So Emmett swallowed down his memories and thought of one of the Russian soldiers who hadn't followed orders.

"Lot's of them," he replied. "There was one named Christoph Prozac, he was a first- rate sharp shooter."

"Did he have a mustache?"

"A big black one."

"And a fluffy hat?"

"Fluffy as can be!"

"Wow," Ben proclaimed, drawing out the o. In his mind, there were no other words that could describe just how awesome his big brother was.

"Were you ever scared?" Kitty asked, her blue eyes shining.

"Of course not!" Ben retorted. "Emmett _never _gets scared!"

Emmett shook his head, quieting Ben. "Actually, I was a little scared sometimes. But then I thought of what Peter Pan would do, and nothing seemed very frightening any more."

Claire resisted the urge to snort, disapproval fairly radiating off of her. Out of all the Darlings, she was the only one who didn't believe in Never Land.

Emmett winked at her and said, "Has the greatest there ever was come for you yet, Claire?"

"Oh please, Em," she replied softly, "Of course not. Peter Pan doesn't exist."

Mrs. Darling sighed from the front seat. "That's the exact same thing I thought, dear. Just wait, you'll see."

"No, I won't," Claire whispered as the car headed home.


End file.
